View the Solar Eclipse at Main Library, Highland Square and Goodyear branches

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North American will be treated to an eclipse of the sun, the first in the continental US in 38 years. Akron will experience about 85% of the sun being covered, or “eclipsed,” by the moon in the middle of the day!

Join the fun with your friends and neighbors at special eclipse viewing events at Main Library and at Highland Square and Goodyear branches. We’ll have eclipse glasses available to event-goers who want to safely look at the sun during the eclipse. (Unfortunately, we do not have glasses to give out beforehand.)

UPDATE:

Due to the overwhelming interest in this program we are no longing taking registrations and cannot guarantee anyone who is not registered will receive eclipse-viewing glasses.

However, we will have pin-hole viewers, a telescope (courtesy of the Akron Astronomy Club) and other experiments and ways for you to interact with this rare event. We can't wait!

Member of the Astronomy Club of Akron will be at Main Library with special telescopes to safely view the eclipse. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Eclipse safety

Being outdoors during an eclipse is no more dangerous than being outdoors at any other time – you would not look directly at the sun any time, so you will not look directly at the sun as it is being eclipsed. NASA has lots of great eclipse safety tips to check out before you go to view the eclipse.

There are lots of fake eclipse viewing glasses for sale, so The American Astronomical Society created this sheet to determine if your eclipse viewing glasses will provide enough eye protection. One way to tell if the solar filter or eclipse glasses you plan to use will be safe, according to the AAS is

“…you shouldn't be able to see anything through a safe solar filter except the Sun itself or something comparably bright, such as the Sun reflected in a mirror, … a bright halogen light bulb, a bright-white LED flashlight (including the one on your smartphone), or an arc-welder's torch. All such sources should appear quite dim through a solar viewer. If you can see lights of more ordinary brightness through your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer … it’s no good.”

No glasses? No problem

Locating a reputable seller of eclipse glasses may be difficult by now. Many places are sold out. You can still enjoy the phenomenal astronomical event of the solar eclipse event without glasses – try making a pinhole viewer, or check out some of these other ideas from the Exploratorium.

Schedule

Event Flyer

Click the image below and download the event flyer PDF.

Summer/Fall Paws for Reading

June–December 2017

Practice your reading skills by reading aloud to our doggie pals. Bring a book from home or read one of ours! Not reading yet? Our dogs’ human pals will read to you. This is a great way for children to practice their literacy skills and gain more confidence in reading aloud. Children of all ages are welcome. No registration is needed.

Mondays

GoodyearJune 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13, December 114 pm

Tuesdays

Nordonia HillsJune 13, July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, December 126:45 pm

Library Programs

Designed with our patrons’ interests, library classes and programs are developed and presented to complement Akron-Summit County Public Library's mission of providing for the educational, informational, recreational, and inspirational needs of Summit County. All of our programs and events are free and open to the public. However, due to room size and capacity constraints, advance registration may be required for some programs.